"Fleur!" Meg exclaimed ecstatically while running and leaping off of the stage and enveloping Fleurette in a tight embrace. "I have missed you so! Now when there's a break happening and I am taking longer to return back to practise it is just I who gets a telling off. As before it was both of us!"
"Nice to know you have missed me just for our telling offs, Meg." Fleurette laughed and held the blonde back.
"Meg let Fleurette go and sit down." Madame Giry said from the stage. Meg pouted and helped her to walk and sit down. Eleanor smiled and sat next to her sister. Madame Giry would allow Eleanor to sit with Fleurette for the afternoon. Eleanor knew the routine and did not need much improving unlike some in the group.
"I'm jealous." Fleurette murmured and crossed her arms.
Eleanor wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "I know. I can't even think how you feel knowing all your hard work can't be put to good use."
"Don't rub it in!" Fleurette exclaimed quietly and wriggled out of her sister's grip. "Would you like to accompany me to the dancer's quarters before the music stops and father forces himself to talk to us?"
"Yes, yes I would." Eleanor smiled and reached down to hold onto her arm. Gently pulling her to a stand, she reached down for Fleurette's overnight hospital bag and gripped onto it tightly while helping her to walk. Most things were a hard task to complete at the moment for Fleurette, although the two had been told that she should be back to normal in a week or even a month. The two hoped the first and not the latter.
Fleurette pulled a face at the stairs, "Why can't I just levitate up them?"
"Now, now, life doesn't want to be too easy does it?" Eleanor smiled and walked up the stairs first and turned and held a hand out to her. "Take it slow. There isn't a rush."
"Well there sort of is, I do really need to sleep."
"Well alright! You can be speedy, just not overly speedy." Eleanor smiled, Fleurette thought over her words and nodded. Taking one step at a time, Fleurette slowly but surely made her way up the stairs. Eleanor was right beside her all the way, whistling happily to pass the time or to motivate Fleurette.
——
"Gazing eyes stared out of a window. The grey town beyond the pane of glass never looked more uninteresting. Pattering rain drops hit against the window and the gazing eyes followed them in the tracks that they made." Fleurette sat on her bed with her legs outstretched in front of her. In her hands was one of the many books which her mother had loved, and she loved equally as much.
Eleanor had long since gone to join in with getting ready for tonight's show, which left her on her own. Being in the dancer's quarters on her own was a little scary. It wasn't until she looked around that she realised how spacious of a room it was and how many shadows lurked around. Fleurette was a little on edge when she was first on her own in here. But the tension went when she started reading one of the many books she had bought with her.
Any tension or fear of being on her own that she felt had now disappeared thanks to the words of the fictional world in her hands. Hearing a creak she sighed, the opera house creaked and made the most strangest noises. She only realised this when sitting in peace and being on her own. The noises were so similar to those which she heard on her first night here. Turning the page, Fleurette was to enthralled in the book to realise that one of the many shadows which had earlier unnerved her had peeled away from the wall.
She only became aware of it when the shadow crouched beside her bed. Fleurette didn't move but her eyes had stopped following the lines of the words. Snapping the book shut she used her dancers agility to jump off of the bed and stand on the other side of it. The plan of evasion didn't go completely to plan because she hadn't had to use this speed for three days she ended up almost falling over.
Clutching onto the book and swaying slightly, Fleurette frowned. "What do you want?" She whispered, Erik eventually stood up straight and looked at her. He was about to answer but rushed around the bed to catch Fleurette as she gripped onto her head and stumbled downward. "I'm sorry," she said while rubbing her temples.
"I'm rather sure it should be me apologising. Although even if I did, I highly doubt you'd accept it."
"I would," Fleurette said while looking up at him with wide eyes. "I really would."
"Then I am sorry." Erik said quietly, almost inaudible. Fleurette heard his words and smiled slowly. "You don't hate me? Fear me?"
"Well," Fleurette said thoughtfully, Erik looked a little worried. "I suppose I should. But I can't, I mean despite you being at the fault of my little accident I think I was more at fault." She paused, "I shouldn't have said anything." She pulled a face and looked down at her lap. "You can let me go now. I'm sure I can stand long enough to get back on the bed." Erik nodded but instead of letting her go he stood up easily carrying her. "Hey!" She exclaimed and wriggled slightly in his grasp. "This isn't putting me down and letting me try and fend for myself!" Fleurette laughed and crossed her arms accepting defeat. With the rather tight grip which she could feel she already accepted the fact that escape was rather low.
Nonetheless, Erik lowered her to solid ground. Fleurette straightened her skirt out and looked up at him. "Would you like to attend tonight's show?" Erik's voice was quiet and he avoided looking at her.
Fleurette smiled and side stepped so she was in his line of vision. "Yes." Turning towards the door she nodded. "Shall we? I'm rather sure it starts soon."
"Why are you so nice?"
Fleurette looked confused and set her eyes on the wooden flooring. Sitting down slowly on the bed, she reached down for her shoes. "I haven't got an answer." She said while doing the buckle up on one of her shoes. She looked up at him quickly. "I don't! So stop looking so confused, your confusion will spread to me. The last thing I need is a confused muddled filled head." She rubbed her head slowly. "Headaches I can deal with however."
"Does your head still hurt?" Erik asked dropping the subject of her niceness. She stood slowly and nodded. He looked sadly down at the floor, his eyes looked up at Fleurette when she tapped him on the arm.
"What happens in the past tends to stay there." She smiled and entwined her hands together and looked up at him.
"You're a very strange woman."
"My sister said I was peculiar, now I'm strange." Fleurette sighed and hung her head. "These are not compliments." She said in a mock dramatic tone while looking slowly up at him. "Can we go now? Please?"
"You are very eager to see this show."
"Well actually I'm eager to get out of this room." Fleurette said honestly while linking her arm with his. Erik jumped a little from her action yet nodded and helped her walk out of the room. Fleurette had to lean ever so slightly against him to walk. She disliked feeling like an invalid, yet Erik didn't look like he was wholly complaining helping her to take easy slow steps.
When it came to the stairs Fleurette faltered and frowned. Erik raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't think I have ever seen someone look at stairs like that before."
"They're hard to conquer." Fleurette explained. "Well...when walking is troublesome at the moment of course they'd be hard to conquer." She rolled her eyes and then yelped when Erik had yet again picked her up. "Honestly you do not need to carry me!" Fleurette whined yet laughed when he just looked at her. She nodded slowly, "Fine, you can carry me." She quickly figured this was his way of helping. When she thought about it, this form of helping was probably helping Erik more to get rid of some guilt he was feeling. Regardless if she didn't want to be carried she was enjoying it nonetheless. Reaching up to wrap her arms around Erik's shoulders she leaned her head against her arm. She looked at the retreating doorway which lead to the dancer's quarters corridor. "Hm?" Fleurette hummed confused when Erik stopped walking and lowered her to the ground. Looking at a thick black curtain she side stepped out of the way when he pushed it to the side. Only enough for her to duck into the box, he followed after her. "You have your own private box?"
"Yes, I do not usually allow people to sit in here." Erik explained while sitting down in a seat.
"Am I an exception?"
"Yes, you are." He answered and quickly glanced at her as she sat down beside him. The two of them weren't sitting right at the front. Rather they were in the middle, even if someone looked up or looked across all they'd see is an empty box.
"Why am I an exception?" Fleurette smiled slowly, her tone a very curious one. Erik rolled his eyes and looked at her. She giggled and put her hands over her mouth. "I have missed slightly annoying you."
"Most people would not say such a thing." He said seriously while crossing his arms over his black jacket. Fleurette nodded her head agreeing with him. She didn't answer to his words and leaned forward against the chair in front of her to watch the performance.
Fleurette's mood darkened ever so slightly when she spotted the routine she'd spent long hours practising. But she smiled happily at the sight of Eleanor dancing with a light smile on her face. Fleurette leaned her head against her hands and sighed. Looking away from the stage her eyes widened. "Felix is here?"
"Does this annoy you, or make you happy?"
"You shouldn't say something like that."
"Why?"
"Because I could retort with similar words involving a certain woman." Fleurette said deadly serious and gave him a sidewards look. Erik frowned at her and didn't look at all pleased. She stood up when her sister disappeared from the stage. Turning slowly to the thick curtain she walked up to it and pushed it aside.
Fleurette looked behind her when Erik followed her, "Where are you going?"
"My head hurts, I need to sleep." Fleurette smiled a rather empty smile and put a hand on her head. "Thank you for tonight. Good night, Erik." With that she turned and walked slowly off down the corridor. She put a hand to the wall and trailed it along, looking to the side when she reached the stairs she walked down. Fleurette slowly made her way to the stage, standing in the wings she coughed awkwardly.
"Fleurette! What are you doing down here?"
"I wanted to see you all perform." She smiled and took her sisters arm when she offered it to her. "You were all really really good."
"Thank you, Fleur."
"You're welcome Meg." Fleurette smiled at the blonde. Looking up at her sister she nodded. "I see Felix is here."
"Yes, yes he is. I did not know he was coming tonight."
"It's the opening show Eleanor, you expect him not to come?" Fleurette shook her head despairing at her sister ever so slightly.
"We have to go back on, you should go find a seat or...regrettably go back to bed."
"Oh, shock horror my sister is trying to ship me off to an early night?"
"You were starting to read when I left! I know how you get when you start reading, you cannot stop." Eleanor smiled and shook her head. "But seriously, please take it easy if you're up and moving about."
"I will, you better get back on."
"Fine, bossing me around just then was fair revenge." Eleanor smiled and ran onto the stage after Meg.
——
Reedited: 10/Jan/2022